easy way, and to establish some general maxims for his future conduct. Besides the excellent gusto which he had in colouring, in which he excelled all mortal men, he perfectly understood how to give every thing those touches which were most suitable and proper to them; such as distinguished them from each other, and which gave the the greatest spirit, and the most of truth. The pictures which he made in his beginning, and in the declension of his age, are of a dry and mean manner. He lived ninety-nine years. His disciples were Paulo Veronese, Giacomo Tintoret, Giacomo da Ponte Bassano, and his sons.

Paulo Veronese was wonderfully graceful in his airs of women, with great variety of brilliant draperies, and incredible vivacity and ease; nevertheless his composition is sometimes improper, and his design incorrect: but his colouring, and whatsoever depends on it, is so very charming in his pictures, that it surprizes at the first sight, and makes us totally forget those other qualities in which he fails.

Tintoret was the Disciple of Titian; great

in design and practice, but sometimes also greatly extravagant. He had an admirable genius for Painting, but not so great an affection for his art, or patience in the executive part of it, as he had fire and vivacity of Nature. He yet has made pictures not inferior in beauty to those of Titian. His composition and decorations are for the most part rude, and his outlines are incorrect; but his colouring, and all that depends upon it, is admirable.

The Bassans had a more mean and poor gusto in Painting than Tintoret, and their designs were also less correct than his. They had indeed an excellent manner of colouring, and have touched all kinds of animals with an admirable hand; but were notoriously imperfect in composition and design.

Correggio painted at Parma two large cupolas in fresco, and some altar-pieces. This artist struck out certain natural and unaffected graces for his Madonnas, his Saints, and little children, which were peculiar to himself. His manner, design, and execution are all very great, but yet without correctness. He had a most free

and delightful pencil; and it is to be acknow ledged, that he painted with a strength, relief, sweetness, and vivacity of colouring, which nothing ever exceeded. He understood how to distribute his lights in such a manner, as was wholly peculiar to himself, which gave a great force and great roundness to his figures. This manner consists in extending a large light, and then making it lose itself insensibly in the dark shadowings, which he placed out of the masses; and those give them this relief, without our being able to perceive from whence proceeds so much effect, and so vast a pleasure to the sight. It appears, that in this part the rest of the Lombard school copied him. He had no great choice of graceful attitudes, or distribution of beautiful groups. His design oftentimes appears lame, and his positions not well chosen: The look of his figures is often unpleasing ; but his manner of designing heads, hands, feet, and other parts, is very great, and well deserves our imitation. In the conduct and finishing of a picture, he has done wonders; for he painted with so much

union, that his greatest works seem to have been finished in the compass of one day; and appear as if we saw them in a lookingglass. His landscape is equally beautiful with his figures.

At the same time with Correggio, lived and flourished Parmegiano; who, besides his great manner of colouring, excelled also both in invention and design: with a genius full of delicacy and spirit, having nothing that was ungraceful in his choice of attitudes, or in the dresses of his figures, which we cannot say of Correggio; there are pieces of Parmegiano's very beautiful and correct.

These two Painters last mentioned had very good disciples, but they are known only to those of their own province; and besides, there is little to be credited of what his countrymen say, for Painting is wholly extinguished amongst them.

I say nothing of Leonardo da Vinci, because I have seen but little of his; though he restored the arts at Milan, and had there many scholars.

Ludovico Carracci, the Cousin Ger

man of Hannibal and Augustino, studied at Parma after Correggio; and excelled in design and colouring, with a grace and clearness, which Guido, the scholar of Hannibal, afterwards imitated with great success. There are some of his pictures to be seen, which are very beautiful, and well understood. He made his ordinary residence at Bologna; and it was he who put the pencil into the hands of Hannibal his cousin.

Hannibal, in a little time, excelled his master in all parts of Painting. He imitated Correggio, Titian, and Raffaelle, in their different manners as he pleased; excepting only, that you see not in his pictures the nobleness, the graces, and the charms of Raffaelle; and his outlines are neither so pure, nor so elegant as his. In all other things he is wonderfully accomplished, and of an universal genius.

Augustino, brother to Hannibal, was also a very good Painter, and an admirable graver. He had a natural son, called Antonio, who died at the age of thirtyfive; and who (according to the general